And you thought your hot dog was expensive... [Marketing News + Notes]
Next time you're at the ballpark and you find yourself balking at the price of concessions, remember that your $6 dog is just a drop in the sports business bucket.
Marketing and sponsorship messages abound in ballparks these days. And with good reason.
New stadiums now cost more than $1 billion to build. In fact, the Giants and Jets' new stadium slated to open in 2010 will cost an estimated $1.3 billion to construct, up 300 percent from the Patriots' Gillette Stadium (built in 2002 for $325 million), The Associated Press reported.
And costlier stadiums are garnering ever-costlier naming rights from companies willing to pony up. Citigroup paid approximately $400 million to paste its name on the Mets' new park for the next 20 years, according to the AP. And the Cubs' storied Wrigley Field may soon bring in the big bucks to rename itself-- though who could imagine Wrigley Field as anything but?
Are naming rights worth their skyrocketing prices? Are they worthwhile marketing investments? What do you think?
Photo courtesy of groups.northwestern.edu
